Dalai Lama Gets Honorary Doctorate

Pictures of the Dalai Lama are banned in China. Nima Ci Ren, the governor of the Tibetan province, says that for the Chinese government, the Dalai Lama is a traitor.

"I must say that unfortunately, there are still people in Tibet who are campaigning for Tibet’s autonomy. They are encouraged by the Dalai Lama and western hostile forces. The Dalai Lama is more of a politician than a religious leader."

"We are fighting the Dalai Lama not because of his religion but because of his separatist thinking, he insists. "Therefore, it's not appropriate to venerate his pictures. "

Negotiations

In 1956, the Dalai Lama fled from Tibet when the Chinese troops invaded. Since then he has been living in Indian exile.

The Chinese government speaks to the Dalai Lama’s delegates, but refuses to negotiate with the Dalai Lama himself.

However, the Dalai Lama has now declared himself ready to co-operate with the Chinese government and is no longer insisting on Tibet’s independence but is calling merely for more autonomy.

Forgetting the Dalai Lama

The Communist government is doing everything for the Tibetans to forget about the Dalai Lama. To even talk about the Dalai Lama in Tibet is dangerous. When asked about the Dalai Lama, some monks wave the question aside:

"It's better not to talk about the Dalai Lama," says one. "It would be very bad for me if I gave you the wrong answer. It’s best if you don’t ask. If I don’t answer correctly, I will get into trouble with the Chinese officials."

According to some estimates, since China’s invasion, over 1.2 million Tibetans have been murdered. About 200 Tibetan nuns and monks are still behind bars because they protested against the communist suppression.

Controlled religion

Buddhism has now been allowed in China again, and the construction of new temples is even partially funded by the government. However, the Chinese government thereby insists on having complete control over all religious activities.

Only the central government can determine how many monks can live in a monastery. The main temple of the Sakya lineage of Buddhism, the Sajia temple, used to house 1,300 monks. Today, the government only allows 120 to live there.

Despite the rigid controls, Buddhism is booming, and the Dalai Lama continues to be worshipped. His pictures are sold secretly in the streets. Although the monks never admit it, what they think is quite clear:

"It’s not easy for me to speak about this. But we have never stopped worshipping the Dalai Lama. We consider him to be our leader."

Reincarnation

Today, the Dalai Lama is 72 years old. According to tradition, the Dalai Lama is always reincarnated as another human being who can later be discovered. The 14th Dalai Lama says he does not want to be reincarnated in China.

The Communist government has, therefore, passed a law which says the new Dalai Lama will have to be approved by Beijing. In this way, the Chinese government will be sure that the next Dalai Lama is well-disposed towards them.

However, the Tibetans are not likely to accept such a nomination and will probably look for the Dalai Lama's reincarnation themselves, possibly outside Tibet. So, the current Dalai Lama will probably have two successors after he dies -- one who has been approved by the Chinese government, and one who is worshipped by the Tibetan people.